Machine for sewing cordage



5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

T. J. MAYALL. Machine `for Sewing Gordrage N0. 239,968.

Patented April 12,188I

HI 1.6/.4 WM d 1 l Il Il ZW.,

NVPETERS, PHOTOLITHUGRAPHER. WASHINTON. D. Cy

(No Model.) 5 sheets-sheen 3y T. J. MAYALL.

` No. 2'39i968.

I Patented April 12,1881.

(N0 Modell) T. J. M'AYALL.

5 sheets-sheet 4;

Machine for Swing Cordage.

Patented April 12, 188114.

MPETERS. FHDTO-UTMOGRAPMEH, WASHINGTON. D C.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet `5.

T. J. MAYALL. Machine for Sewing Oordage.

N0. 239,968. Patented April 12,1881.

N-PI'ERS. PHOTO-UTHOGAPHER. WASHINGTON, D. CA

UNITED STATES `PAT-mvfr OFFICE.

THOMAS J. MAYALL, OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR SEWING CORDAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,968, dated April12, 1881.

Application led April 15l 1880. (No model.)

To all whom @t may concern Beit known thatI, THOMAS J. MAYALL, ofReading, Massachusetts, have invented anew and useful Improvement in aMachine for Sewing Cordage to Form Shoes, and for other similarpurposes, of which the following is a speciiication.

In Spain, and perhaps other European countries, it has been the customto make solesfor shoes by winding-twisted or braided strands of hemp,jute, or other similar and `suitable ber of considerable thickness intothe form of a shoe-sole, and then, by means of an eye- `pointed 4awl ofsufficient length (about eight or ten inches) and of about the thicknessof a common loom-shuttle spindle, to carry another similar strand of thelibrous material transversely through all the convolutions of vthestrand previously wound up in a flat coil to become a shoe-sole, fromedge to edge, beginning at the heel or toe, and continuing thesecrossings near enough to each other to give the sole the requiredsolidity the whole length of it, the cross-strands being `drawn up asclosely as can be done by hand.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine, to be driven by lanysuitable power, by which an attendant of ordinary intelligence can workin the cross-strands heretofore worked in by hand with the awl, asdescribed, to produce the soles with much greater rapidity than the workcan be done by hand-labor, and produce a more durable and satisfactorysole as a result.

In the accompanying drawings, which forni `a part of this specification,Figures 1 to 6 are general views of a machine constructed in accordancewith the invention, Fig. 1 being an isometrical perspective view; Figs.2 and 3, views in elevation from opposite sides; Figs. 1.1. and 5, viewsfrom opposite ends, and-Fig. 6. a plan view. Figs. 7 and Sare sectionalviews in planes at right angles to each other, showing the bed forcontaining the sole and the parts in immediate connection with said bed;and Figs. 9,10, 11, and 12 are views, in plan `and cross-section, of abundle of cordage loosely wound into a sole and of a finished sole,respectively.

The same letters indicate like parts where they occur on all thefigures.

The various devices are supported in a suitable frame, a, and power isconveyed to adriving-shaft, b, by a belt running on a pulley, a', whichis loose on the shaft, but can be made to engage the fixed wheel a2 soas to revolve it and the shaft b when required.

The shaft a communicates motion, by means of the bevel-gears c d, tocross-shaft e, which operates the workin g parts of the machine, and

which is therefore designated `herein as the for locking that carried bythe eye-pointed' needle, is operated by the cam f, fixed on the mainshaft c. This cam has a groove of irregular shape, as shown in Fig. 3,in which works the roller c2. The roller is carried at the end of aguide-lever, f', which is pivoted at the end c3 tothe machine-frame, andis connected at its outer end, by the linkfz, with an arm, f3, of arock-shaft, f4. This rock-shaft is supported in bearin gs parallel tothe driving-shaft b, and on its opposite end is fixed an arm, f5, whichis jointed by a slot-and-pin connection to the shuttle-carrier f7, so asto reciprocate the same. The shuttle-carrier is guided by a slottedguide-piece, f8, the upper surface of which is hollowed to form the racefor the shuttle f 9. The race is provided with a cover, t, which is at tprovided with a hole for the passage of the needle.

The needle-bar h is supported at its rear end by and moves in a dovetailgroove in a block, h', which rests on one of the top rails of the frameof the machine. The forward end of the needle-bar rests on a block, h2,which, in turn, rests and slides on a beam, h3, below it, which beam issupported in its proper positionin the machine by the rods or bars h?,themselves suspended from the under side of the top rails of themachine. From the forward end of the IOO needle-bar h a guide-loop, h5,reaches down and around the beam h3, and, sliding on it, keeps theforward end of the needle-bar in its proper alignment. In the forwardend of the needlebar, and in direct alignment with it, is firmly ixed aneye-pointed needle, j. This needle is ordinarily about eight or teninches in length and about an eighth to three-sixteenths to one-quarterof an inch in diameter. The eye of this needle will admit a strand oftwisted or braided fiber in size about equal to the diameter of theneedle;

Above the needle-bar, and restin gon a standard supported by the frameof the machine, is a spool, j', for the fibrous strand to be carried bythe needle, and on other similar standards tension-pulleys,(markedrespectivelyjzand j3,) around which the strand passes.

On the needle-bar h is iixed an adjustable arm, s2, which reaches upwardbetween the spool j and the tension-pulleyj2 to about half the height ofthe tension-pulley jZ, and is provided with an eye through the upperpart of it, in which the strand of fibrous material to be woven into thesole is carried. When the needle-bar moves backward, withdrawing theneedle from the sole, this arm draws the strand back with the needle,thereby bringing the strand from the shuttle-carrier on the other sideof the sole into and part way through the sole, leaving the looping-point of the two strands about in the middle of the sole and drawingthe vcoiled strands compact] y together. The backward movement of thisarm also serves to take off from the bobbin j enough of the strands tomake the next crossing through the sole.

On the outer side of the needle-bar, extending about one-third of itslength, is fixed a slotted plate, i, in which are set two movable studs,i and i2, which have motion with the Y needle-bar and strike the innerend of an elbowlever, s, carrying it forward and then backward. y a

The elbow-lever s is pivoted on a pin, t3, set in the top of the rail ofthesupporting-frame,

with the outer end of the lever taking hold loosely of a lever, q,having for its fulcrum the shaft p, said lever q carrying a pawl, q',loosely attached to it. This pawl, as the lever q is moved by the motionof the elbow-lever s, engages in the teeth of the ratchet-wheel g2,which is also on the shaft p, and which is partially rotated by eachtraverse of the needlebar h.

The shaft p, supported in suitable bearings on the frame of the machine,extends across it Vparallel to the shaft b, and on the other-end of itis fixed a pinion-gear, o. This pinion-gear works into the under side ofa toothed rack,m. This toothed rack engages and carries forward andbackward the bed m5, upon which the coil of cordage to be woven for asole is secured and held while it is being woven by a clamping-plate.This bed and clamping-plate, containing the coil of cordage to be formedinto a sole, is by Vevery movement of the shaft p imparted by theelbow-lever s carried forward, so that the next forward movement of theneedle will penetrate through the coil of cordage at such distance fromits last crossing as may be desired, the feed being regulated by thedistance between the studs i and/2. When the transverse sewing of thecordage is completed the-pawl q is raised from the ratchetwheel g2,which allows the shaftp to revolve freely, and the toothed rack mispushed back to its starting-point by the operator, and the pawl q beingdropped to its place, the machine is again ready for operation uponanother coil when supplied.

The machine is putin motion, when ready for work, by pressing the pulleya2 into the pulley a with such force that the surfaces coming in contactwill so engage each other that the motion of 8 5 the pulley a iscommunicated to the pulley a2, which, bein giirmly fixed on the shaft b,puts the machine in motion. The pulley a2 is driven into the pulley a bythe operator turning the wheel o sharply to the right. This wheel is ona shaft, 02, which extends across the machine below the top rails,parallel to the main shaft c, and carries firmly fixed on it just insideof the wheel o an elbow-lever, 03, one end of which is connected to thelower rail of the frame of the machine by a spiral spring, 04. Thisspiral spring, being left free to act on the elbow-lever o3, turns theshaft o2 over to the left. On the further end of the shaft 02 is a diskto carry an eccentric-pin, o6, which works in a slot in the elbow-levero5. This lever is pivoted to the machine-frame, and its upright armbears against the side of loose pulley a2, so that as it is pressed inone direction or the other the wheel is pressed into or released fromcontact with the fixed wheel a.

By securing the right-hand arm of the elbow-lever o3 with the swinginghookog, which is pivoted on the upper side of the top rail of the frameof the machine and held to the arm of the elbowlever by a light spring,o7, the two pulleys a and a2 are heldin contact with each other untilthe hook 08 is disengaged. When this disengagement takes place the levero3 is released, the spring o4 draws down the other arm, turning theshaft- 02 to the left and moving the lever o5 away from holding the two.pulleys a' and a together, when they instantly become disengaged andthemotion of the machine ceases. This occurs when the bed7 which carriesthe coil of cordage to be united together in the manner described, hasbeen moved by the feed mechanism the length of the sole, when anadjustable stop, m', on the rack m strikes the straight end of theswinging hook o8 and, overcoming the power of the spring o7, disengagesthe hook from the elbow-lever o3. the machine is automatically stoppedwhen the whole length of the sole has been sewed. The stop on the rackcan be adj usted for any length of sole which can be made on themachine.

TOO

IIO

IIS

Thus the motion of The Hat bundle of lcordage which is to make the soleis wound in `an oblong form, a little narrower toward the end which isto be'the heel, and approximatingto the shape of an or- Said flat bundleis then cured thereon by a clamp-plate, e, Figs. 7 and 8, which plate isheld down upon said bundle by turning down the nuts on the swingingscrews m3 and m4.

The ends of the bed are formed by the `angle-pieces mmand m11, of whichthe former is stationary and the latter is adjustable, in order to`accommodate soles of different lengths.

Theilat bundle of cordage which is to make a sole is securedet one sideby the cover t, which is over the raceway in which the shuttle moves. Ontheother side is the needleguide lr, to which is attached an arm, kt,extending along t-he coil of cordage. The needle-guide is supported ontwo arms, j and j, which, in turn, slide in holesl throughsupporting-blocks 7c and 7a2, and are firmly affixed to a plate, 7c3,depending from the under side of a lever, o, which is pivoted on theupper side ot' the middle rail of the frame of the machine. The end ofthis lever toward the operator is furnished with a handle for theoperator to grasp, and the other end is connected by a spiral spring,o', to a block, '112, which is fastened on the top rail of the framenear the bevel-gear d. The natural operation of this spiral spring 'v'is to draw the shorter end of the lever/v toward the block c2, therebypressing the needle-guide la and arm 7c* against the edge of the coil ofcordage as it lies in the bed mi. Thispressure is removed, whendesirable to do so, by the operator pushing the haudleof the lever o tothe left and securing it by the latch e3, which is firmly fixed on theinside of the top rail of the frame of the machine.

n' is a table affixed to the frame of the machine, in which, under thecover t, is an opening to receive the block f, in which is the race forthe shuttle f. This shuttle contains a ibrous strand similar to thatcarried by the needle. This strand, which is wound on a suitable bobbinor spool, is to interloop with that carried by the eye-pointed needle,and so interlooping is drawn by the backward motion of the needle-barand the arm s2 into the coil of cordage, the looping of the two strandsbeing linally leftat or near the middle of the flat coil of cordage.

All the several parts of this machine havihg been mentioned and referredto by letters marked on the drawings, and their uses and relations tothe whole, as well as their separate functions, having been set forth, lwill now describe the operation of the machine as a whole.

The flat oblong coil of' cordage is secured in the bed prepared for it.The spoolj is provided with its proper supply of fibrous strand, and thespool in the shuttle is also supplied with strand. These two strands areto be sewed through the width of the dat coil of being so arranged thatthey will at the proper movement of the machine interloop each other,

and everything being in place ready for work, the operator turns thewheel o sharply to the right, catching the end of the upper arm of theelbow-lever ointo the hook-lever o.Y This causes the pulleys a.' and a2to engage each other and revolve the shaft b, which, through the pinionc and gear d, puts all the parts in their proper order of motion. Thetraversing of the stud g in the curved openingthrough the broad part otthe needle-bar carries the needle-bar forward, driving the needle withthe strand of liber in its eye through all the convolutions of cordage,piercing through the middle of all, and carrying the eye of the needleau inch or more beyond the edge of the tlat coil. The motion,continuing, withdraws the needle a little, which motion forms a loopwith the strand in its eye. Here the motion of the needle-bar ceases fora moment, the form of opening through its broad part being such as topermit the traversing of the stud g in it withoutgivingitmotion.Whiletheneedle-bar is thus for a moment at rest, the cam f moving, thestud e2, traversing its irregular groove, moves the rockin g shattf4 andcarries the shuttle, with its bobbin of fibrous strand, through the loopformed by the needle. As soon as the shuttle has passed through the loopthe needle-bar, resuming motion, withdraws the needle and the loop itmade on the other edge of the (to be) sole, bringing the strand from theshuttle, which passed through the loop with it part way, and drawing thewhole np tightly, the point ofthe needle being quite outside of theguide-plate which presses the edge of the sole. The feed mechanismdescribed is then moved by the stud i2 striking the elbow-lever s,carrying the bed m5 forward the distance which is desired between thecrossing strands. Here one revolution of the main shaft has been made;another begins, and ends with the results described. The motioncontinuing, the sole is sewed thc whole length, as described, when theadjustable .stud on the rack m strikes the end ot' the hook-lever o8,disengaging its hold on the elbowlever, and the machine stops'to receiveanother coil to be united.

Having thus fully described the construction and operation of mymachine, I claim new and my invention- 1. A machine for making soles ofthe character described, comprising, in combination with a bed-plate andclamping-plate for receiving the bundle of cordage llatwise betweenthem, an eye-pointed needle, a sh uttle and operating devices forinserting binding-strands from side to side through the bundle ofcordage, and mechanism, as indicated, for feeding the sameintermittingly in the direction of its length, substantially as setforth.

ICO

'2. The bed formed byabed-plate, clampingneedle-guide, said guide andcover being on plate, and an gle-pieces or upright projections oppositesides of said bed-plate, substantially carried by the bed-plate andcapable of adas described. justmentto regulatethedistance between them,5. In a machine of the general character de- 5 substantially asdescribed. scribed, the combination, with the eye-pointed 2o 3. Thecombination of a bed-plateaclamp needle, shuttle, and operatingmechanism, of ing-plate, a guide pierced with a needle-hole the bed,feed mechanism,as indicated,for movand arranged opposite the spacebetween said ing the bed forward, and devices, as explained, plates atthe side, and a spring connected With for stopping the machineautomatically when 1c said guide and serving to press the saine tothebed reaches a predetermined point, sb- 25 Ward the saidplates,substantiallyasdescribed. stantially as described.

4. Thecombinatioinwithan'eye-pointed nee- THOS. J. MAYALL. die andshuttle and operating` mechanism, of Witnesses: the bed-plate, thepieces forming the ends of' CHS. HOUGIITON, 15 the bed, the cover to theshuttle-race, and the FREDK. L. HOUGHTON.

